The problem the present invention was created to solve is the range limitation of electric vehicles. As many corporate automobile engineers and an army of independent inventors and thinkers have realized, increasing the range of an electric car with a solar array could give electric cars the range they need to compete on an equal footing with gas driven cars. But no one has yet sold a solar car, truck or van commercially. I believe that this is because the following somewhat contradictory objectives must also be met to make a solar car as attractive to potential buyers as another type of vehicle:
A The total amount of electricity created by the solar array must be enough that it can provide most of the energy which an average driver uses. In general, this requires a solar array with a much larger average footprint than the footpring of the vehicle the solar panels are mounted on. However, the dimensions of the deployed solar array must not be so large that it goes beyond the area which is normally allotted for one cars usage.
B The solar array must not cause the vehicle to become unstable, to do a wheelie, to tip over or to take off like an airplane This requires that the solar cells that extend beyond the perimeter of the vehicle when it is being driven be minimized.
C. the vehicle must be as intrinsically safe as a standard car, truck, bus or van of a similar type. This includes such factors as minimizing glare, making it possible to turn the vehicle easily and for the driver to see outside
D. The solar array must not make it difficult for the driver and passengers to enter or leave the vehicle and it must not make it easy for solar cells to be vandalized or hit by stray dirt. The solar array must also not be positioned in such a way that passersby or others could easily get hurt or damage it by running into it. Additionally, the solar array must not interfere with the driver's vision or make passengers feel claustrophobic by not allowing them to see out of the vehicle
E. Over the lifetime of a typical car, truck, bus or van, the cost of the solar array and any mechanisms needed to support it must not be so expensive that they are significantly greater than the fuel savings created by switching to solar electricity from gasoline. Furthermore, the systems used must be reliable
F. The solar array must be high enough when it is producing electricity that it will not be shaded by people, nearby vehicles and other objects of similar or lesser heights. It also must be designed in such a way that one part of the solar array does not shade another part for more than a small minority of the day.
G. The solar array must not interfere with the vehicles ability to perform as a standard car, minivan or similar vehicle in terms of parking, handling passenger comfort and other practical issues.
H. It must be possible to align or orient the solar array towards the sun for maximal electricity output.
While point A leads one to design a very large solar array, a very large array mounted high enough to allow for egress and to avoid other problems cited above would create stability problems while driving and interfere with fulfilling point B. But solar panels that extended beyond the front area of vehicle perimeter and were mounted much lower would create egress problems, glare on the driver, be easily shaded by nearby objects including the roof and roof array of the vehicle and be subject to vandalism. Just as driving and turning a large truck or bus is harder than driving a small car, any vehicle would be more difficult to drive if it had an array that extended significantly beyond its outside perimeter.
The key to understanding how to achieve the somewhat contradictory objectives A-H listed above is to have an array whose constituent parts (i.e., solar panels) do not extend significantly beyond the vehicles perimeter when it is being driven—but these solar panels can be repositioned when the vehicle is parked so that the total footprint of the solar array covers an area much larger than the vehicle. Since people typically park a vehicle far more than they drive it, an expandable solar array could increase the range of an electric car enough to fulfill an average driver's needs.
In the present invention, I use the word “undeployed” to describe the solar array when it's individual solar panels are stacked up on top of the carefully designed vehicle roof without going beyond its perimeter. When the vehicle is parked, however, the solar array can be expanded to cover an area approximately equal to the size of a standard parking space. This repositioned solar array which covers a footpring far larger than the vehicle itself is called expanded. And once each of the solar panels which make up the array are moved to the same level after the solar array is expanded, I call the solar array “deployed.”
With this in mind, let us examine the prior art to see what people have thought of in the past: